It’s widely considered that the ability to purposefully learn new skills is what separates us humans from animals. It is also widely considered that those who consistently learn throughout their life end up being more successful than those who don’t. So why not dedicate some of your spare time to acquiring a new skill that will improve your life? You can learn any of these five in less than a year:

Speed-reading

“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers” — this quote is attributed to Harry S. Truman; given that he was leading a whole nation, he probably knew what he was talking about. Although reading as many books as possible at breakneck pace won’t necessarily make you a president of the United States, speed-reading is still a must-have skill: the faster you process textual information, the faster you learn. And the faster you learn, the faster every aspect your life improves. So give this skill a try — there are lots of courses dedicated to speed-reading on Udemy.

Public speaking

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, as much as 73% of Americans suffer from glossophobia, the fear of public speaking. It’s hard to blame them — there’s something terrifying about completely exposing yourself in front of a crowd of total strangers. Even if you belong in the other 27%, public speaking is still something you should master if you want to improve your confidence and communication skills. At the end of the day, communication is the backbone of human life.

Foreign Languages

Speaking of communication — why not pick up a new language? You can get acquainted with a foreign culture (and a acquire a more profound understanding of your own). You can increase your job prospects and travel to new countries. Most importantly, it will improve your memory and concentration as well as problem-solving and creative skills — the cognitive benefits of learning languages are huge. If you are not sure what is that you want to study, try Spanish: it’s the third most spoken language in the world and the easiest to learn for native English-speakers. There are tons of free apps and websites to help you on your journey.

Photo editing

Digital photo editing is not just a fun thing to learn — it is also a skill that’s becoming increasingly sought after on the job market. Though it might take longer than a year to become a professional photo editor, this time is more than enough to pick up the basics: for instance, you can try photo editing classes on Skillshare.